Body found in Cherokee County

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Cherokee County, TX (KETK) — A body was found in Cherokee County Wednesday morning. If you were driving along Highway 69 and County Road 2620, you probably noticed lots of police, a body bag and maybe a strong stench. Authorities said a white female was found dead.

"The Sheriff's Office got a call about 10:30 this morning... private contractor that was mowing the grass for the highway department," said Cherokee County Sheriff, James Campbell.

Authorities said there is not many clues as to who it belongs to.

"It is very decomposed. We don't have an identity on it yet," said Campbell.

The Cherokee County Sheriff's Office found a few clues.

"We did find a shoe and a hat a short distance from the body. We don't know if the person was hit by an automobile or just died and maybe an animal or something moved the hat or shoe. We don't know," said Campbell.

The body was sent to Tyler for an autopsy.

"We don't know if they'll be able to use fingerprints or not. So, they will rely probably more on dental records," said Campbell.

Authorities do not know the age of the woman. All that is left along the highway is a dark spot where the decomposed body was found.

Angelina County investigators were at the scene. They are currently looking for 33-year-old missing person, Sheila Morton. They plan on doing DNA testing.

"...to see if they might have a missing person. We don't have a missing person that matches this description in Cherokee County," said Campbell.

The grass in the median was last mowed on June 2.

"...so the body has probably been here since June...July," said Campbell.

Angelina County investigators said they are still unsure if the body belongs to Huntington's Sheila Morton. They will know more after DNA testing.

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